Stirring the pot on shot placement

[JLS]

I aim for where the femur and clavicle meet.

 

[44hunter45]

You sure about this?

You are too kind.

The cow I shot in the neck last year was so floppy I could barely keep the game bags on my pack for the pack out.

Maybe this?

Cadaveric spasm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Panda Bear]

250 gr woodleigh from a 348 into the head of a caribou when they are swimming across a river leaves no meat damage.

This should fit this thread on several levels

 

[R.K.]

You are too kind.

The cow I shot in the neck last year was so floppy I could barely keep the game bags on my pack for the pack out.

Maybe this?

Cadaveric spasm - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Just going off personal experience- I've seen some deer shot in the neck/spine that immediately tensed up and were a pain to butcher, but didn't get to try any of the steaks- they got turned into burger. So I could definitely be wrong on that one, and it sounds like I am.

 

[mtmuley]

How much bloodshot loss was there?

I asked the question because I was hunting with a friend last fall, and we had a raghorn at 60 yards in the timber with the vitals covered and neck exposed. Buddy had won the rock-paper-scissors at the truck for first shot, and he waited for the vitals to get exposed instead of a neck shot. We didn't get the elk, and I've been second-guessing our decision making ever since (and why in the world I decided to throw rock instead of scissors).

That bull shoulda been dead. The one I killed, 181 Hammer at damn near 3400fps. Not much bloodshot. I grind the neck anyway. mtmuley

 

[Gerald Martin]

Nothing like blowing off a jaw to conserve meat....
Head shots are a no go for me.

 

[mtmuley]

Nothing like blowing off a jaw to conserve meat....
Head shots are a no go for me.

Head and neck. Big difference. mtmuley

 

[brockel]

Nothing like blowing off a jaw to conserve meat....
Head shots are a no go for me.

Right there with you. Seen one without a jaw. What a way to go

 

[Hunting Wife]

When euthanizing deer and elk for necropsies, we always wanted caudal neck shots because obviously we needed organs as intact as possible. Turns out there are very few people, myself included, that are good enough shooters to pull that off consistently. But if you have the skills, very effective and virtually nothing gets lost (except the CWD sample ).

I personally always go for heart/lung, but not every shot situation is going to be perfectly broadside. If it looks like my only option is through a shoulder, I’ll take it with no qualms.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Head and neck. Big difference. mtmuley

Yep. I agree. A bigger target on the neck and if you hit high or low a better chance of survival on a graze. I still prefer the lungs but will shoot a neck shot with a steady rest and short distance if it is the only option.

 

[mtmuley]

Yep. I agree. A bigger target on the neck and if you hit high or low a better chance of survival on a graze. I still prefer the lungs but will shoot a neck shot with a steady rest and short distance if it is the only option.

Critters with a bullet through the lungs die. I shot that bull last year at the base of the neck only because I wanted him dead where he stood. The way downhill he may have gone was scary. mtmuley

 

[MITCHMO]

One in the hand vs two in the bush. First lethal shot that presents itself. Neck, chest, shoulder, frontal, straight down, whatever gets the job done. First priority is clean kill, second is minimal meat loss.

 

[noharleyyet]

I have passed on 'challenging' targets that evoked second guessing. A very nice CO bull presented the alimentary exit door bullseye at under a hundred yards back in my rookie years. Being the sophisticated elk caller that 15 minutes of hoochie mama squeezebox practice afforded, I figured he would turn and point to his vitals. I've seen slower rockets disappear.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Saw my father in law drop a bull at 400 yards with the Texas method looked like he had 8 livers when I gutted him. Perfect shot hit the heart no gut shot dropped in seconds.

I watched a tv hunting show where they came across a bull elk standing next to the road. It didn't spook and you could tell something was wrong with it but it still looked healthy.
After the hunter shot it they found someone had shot it dead center of the butt hole. Had they not killed it it would have suffered a slow panful death because somebody took it upon themselves to take that awful shot.

 

[Dsnow9]

I saw gritty go into a discussion about their high lung shots this year, I guess the concussion also destroys nerves in the spine and drops them cold. Also saves the heart for eating. I have also gone for double lung and save as much meat as possible.

 

[Otto Matic]

Hmm......
Don't do head shots, and yes, I can do (have done) it.
Problem is, without a blood outlet, they are an awful bloody mess to gut.
Number two, way too easy to miff a shot.

For several years, I hunted an area that sat atop and right on the edge of a bluff about 75 feet high. Down at the bottom was a hole. Get a deer down off in that hole and you had Billy's old Heck dragging them up out of that hole. The edge of the bluff was also the landowners property line.
So the goal was:
1) kill whatever (doe/buck) immediately
2) anchoring it ON TOP of the bluff

I found the best shot was a high, shoulder shot. Break the shoulders and disrupt the CNS. Anchors them every time.

Then old Murph kicks in! LOL!
Twig or twitch happens and you've got a deer in a difficult retrieve.

Sadly, I haven't shot a deer in 2 years! ☹
Maybe this fall!

 

[Dancerpro]

I have always hunted to put meat in the freezer 1st and to kill a trophy second. I will hunt a few days turning down smaller bucks or bulls if I have the time but I have no problem filling an any elk or deer tag with a doe/cow or small male of either. That is also why I never if possible have taken a shoulder shot first. Placing it low in the heart and lungs seems to work for me and the level of blood shot meat decreases greatly. I have shot lots of animals in the head and neck when I have very good situation. I just have trouble understanding how most people preach the shoulder shot as the only way to place your shot.. If have respect for the animal and what it gives us, should we not what to be able to harvest as much as possible?

I am new to wanting to hunt and have been studying how to hunt ETHICALLY. I want the meat and want to target large bodied animals. I want to save as much meat as possible, and am thinking head and neck shots will do that, best. Everyone I watch says those shots are unethical, but never give a reason. I see it as the most ethical shot possible, as the animal dies quickly. So, what an I not seeing?

 

[Dsnow9]

I am new to wanting to hunt and have been studying how to hunt ETHICALLY. I want the meat and want to target large bodied animals. I want to save as much meat as possible, and am thinking head and neck shots will do that, best. Everyone I watch says those shots are unethical, but never give a reason. I see it as the most ethical shot possible, as the animal dies quickly. So, what an I not seeing?

Very small target. Potentially lead to wounding an animal you will never find. Jaws shot off, missing part of the head... etc

 

[CoffeeGoat]

I am new to wanting to hunt and have been studying how to hunt ETHICALLY. I want the meat and want to target large bodied animals. I want to save as much meat as possible, and am thinking head and neck shots will do that, best. Everyone I watch says those shots are unethical, but never give a reason. I see it as the most ethical shot possible, as the animal dies quickly. So, what an I not seeing?

Because stuff happens. If those shots are slightly off, then you are a long ways from a clean, quick kill.

 

[Nick87]

I am new to wanting to hunt and have been studying how to hunt ETHICALLY. I want the meat and want to target large bodied animals. I want to save as much meat as possible, and am thinking head and neck shots will do that, best. Everyone I watch says those shots are unethical, but never give a reason. I see it as the most ethical shot possible, as the animal dies quickly. So, what an I not seeing?

The shot that saves the most meat is about 2" behind the shoulder 1/3 to 1/2 way up broadside without doubt.